Of Sadism and its many forms
by Firehearted Shinobi
Summary: Jellal knew when he appointed Erza as his personal guard and chief of staff that she was many things, and among these many things was the fact that she was a sadist. But no matter how much of a confirmed sadist she was, she had limits right? Sugarboy and Hughes aren't so sure and frankly, even he is having his doubts.
1. Chapter 1

The man's deranged laughter echoed through the underground dungeon hidden deep beneath the old castle. His interrogator lifted a single thin eyebrow at the unexpected response to the abuse he had just put the man through. A sigh escaped his lips and with a wave of his hand he signalled for one of the guards that had been standing watch to take the man to his cell.

Another sigh escaped Hughes' lips, this man was proving to be exceedingly hard to crack. None of the usual interrogation methods were giving any results. He was thoroughly displeased since he would have prefered not to have to consult Erza about how to proceed, but there was unfortunately no choice.

Many floors above the dungeon the redheaded woman in question burst through the doors to the king's makeshift study. Jellal gave a surprised yelp as the door banged harshly against the wall and he hastily scrambled to right his inkpot before it's contents spilled all over the letters he had spent the past several hours writing. Once he was sure that the disaster had been properly averted he gave her a reproachful scowl. Her only response to his non-verbal scolding was a dismissive shrug as she walked over and planted herself comfortably on his desk. His eyes widened in alarm, fearing that she would disrupt all his tidy paperwork but upon seeing that she had carefully placed herself where she wouldn't jeopardize any of his work he decided it would be best to shut up and humor her.

"You know you only ever sit on my desk like this when you want to force me to pay attention to you?" he asked pushing his fringe out of his eyes. "It's damn irritating."

"It works, doesn't it?" she smirked down at him.

"Hmm." He had to admit that she knew how to forcefully divert his attention towards her, in more ways than one. "What is it this time, Erza?"

"I'm just curious as to why this is the first time you've authorized us to torture your would-be assassins for information." she asked, flicking her hair behind her shoulder before taking his quill from his hand and placing it in the inkpot. Jellal raised an eyebrow.

"I did no such thing." He answered curtly. Erza scoffed and leaned in closer to him, trying to threaten him into submission.

"Please, Jellal. You put me in charge of their interrogation, knowing full-well that I am a very sadistic woman. You knew that these men would be much harder to crack than the others." She cocked her head to the side. "You also knew that no matter how far you would be willing to go that I would always be able to come with even crueller and far more effective torture." Jellal sighed. She was right, of course. Even now the sadistic glee in her eyes, both from the power he had given her over the prisoner and from the fact that she was cornering him in their little discussion, was present for anyone who cared to look to see.

"You know why I did it, you were there." he said. "I don't want any innocent civilians caught up in their lust for terror." Erza gave a low, dangerous laugh.

"You're not half as soft as the idiots on the council think you are." He frowned at that and she laughed some more. "Don't worry," she purred. Once again the thought that this woman was dangerous crossed Jellal's mind. "I decided to humor you a bit, so I instructed Hughes and Sugarboy to use your usual methods before going for anything else."Jellal sighed.

"I'll admit that is a weight off my mind."

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in."

As soon as Jellal saw Hughes and Sugarboy walk in he felt a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"My lord, I am sorry to say that we could get nothing out of the prisoner through the usual methods."

Erza smirked at him. "You were saying?" He scowled.

_AN:/ This is gonna be a short three-shot so I can have a bit of fun with these four. Tell me what you think!_


	2. Chapter 2

Erza stomped down the corridors that lead to the interrogation room where the prisoner was waiting. Jellal was trying to walk beside her but it was far more difficult than it should have beem since Sugarboy and Hughes kept tripping him up by treading on his heels in their haste to witness Erza's handling of the prisoner.

They rounded the last corner that lead to the room they were searching for and Jellal spotted the two guards that had been posted there leaning casually againt the wall on either side of the cell doors and chatting amicably. The few words he managed to catch from them suggested that the tall blond on the left side of the door had been recounting his daughter's first birthday party to his partner. The proud look on his face quickly disappeared as he saw Erza stalking up towards them. Jellal had to give both men credit for supressing ther fear so well even as they hastily tried to right themselves and salute. A blunt order for them to open the door came from Erza and they once again scrambled to unlock the doors and let them in.

Jellal wasn't overly fond of forcing answers out of people in the same way Erza was so he rarely ever made these trips to the castle dungeons where some criminals were ocassionaly kept until they could be sent off to the different prisons that were scattered across the country. Still, every single time he made his way to the dungeon he was always struck by the lack of overly ominous detail in the place. Ever since he was a child he had imagined the dungeons to be dark scary places filled with horrible devices meant to inflict astounding pain. Instead he was always faced with grey, empty rooms occupied only by some prisoners and their guards.

This particular prisoner he was acquainted with. The man had unsuccesfully tried to stab him a few days ago only to find that the king was far from defenseless. He was a man well versed in the art of combat and constantly accompanied by a woman as deadly as they came... they were more than a match for some over-zealous, half-wit assassin. However, what worried Jellal far more than his failed assassination attempt was the tattoo on the man's arm. It linked him to a criminal organization that had been responsable for a spree of terror inducing bombings in the cities surrounding the capital. And it was because of this that he had allowed Erza to take control of his interrogation. He desperately wanted to put a stop to these acts of terror that had already raked up a significant body count.

The prisoner was at the back of the room seated on a large wooden chair. His bony arms were secured to the armrests of the chair by thick chains which snaked down to encircle his feet. The mere weight of them was enough to immobilise him. He watched them walk into the room attentively. As soon as he caught a glimpse of Hughes and Sugarboy a leering grin made it's way onto his face.

"Back already, gentlemen?" he asked. Both men glared at him but said nothing. "And you've brought the King and general Knightwalker with you! Lovely." If the man could feel the homicidal aura coming from Erza he did a good job of hiding it as he stared her square in the face. Jellal had to admit it was quite admirable since there were savage animals who took kindlier to being stared in the face than Erza.

The man scoffed and it appeared to be the last straw that she was willing to take. She began to move towards him radiating fury but was stopped as Jellal threw and arm out to block her path. She said nothing but her discontent was obvious as she continued to glare at the man in front of her.

"This is your last chance to tell us all you know." Jellal decided to reason one last time with the man before leaving him to his generals non-existant mercy. The man laughed quietly as he turned his attention to him.

"Are all your subordinates so incompitant that you have to resort to questioning prisoners yourself, your majesty?" The man was staring him down now and he could see the glint of insanity in his eyes. That explained how he could be so unflinching in Erza's terrifying presence. It also told alot about the organization he was a part of.

Jellal decided to ignore the jibe the man had sent towards his generals even though he could feel their collective fury like a deadly heat behind him. "Should that be interpreted as a refusal?" he asked.

"It should."

Jellal remained where he was a moment longer hoping to see a change in the man's disposition that would suggest he had changed his opinion but saw none. Without another word he turned around. He began to walk away but was stopped as the man called out to him.

"You know, your majesty. From what I've heard most men of power prefer to keep kittens by their side as pets. That tiger of yours is surprisingly docile when it comes to you. Must have been hard to tame her,huh?"

The surprised look on the man's face as his airway was cut off caught all the other inhabitants in the room completely off guard. As the lack of air slowly started to seep into the man's mind the first hint of fear appeared in his eye. No one had even seen Erza move...

But then again, it wasn't her hand tightening around the man's neck. Jellal had been the one to swerve around in a split second of rage and it was his hand that had shot out.

"I don't keep pets." he hissed as the man began to gasp for air. "You'd do well to remember that."

He let go slowly and watched as the man gulped down air to refill his lungs. He pulled his right hand close to his chest and felt the uncontrolable tremors running through it. He turned his back to the man and was faced by his three generals. Hughes and Sugarboy looked like they weren't quite sure whether to look shocked or gleeful. He moved towards the door and paused beside Erza who had her surprise under control and simply looked equal parts amused and knowing.

"He's all yours, Erza." he muttered.

"Leave it to me." she answered.

After leaving his generals in charge he decided to go upstairs and relax a bit. The hand that had wrapped around the prisoner's throat was still shaking violently as he tried to supress his rage. He sighed knowing he wouldn't be abe to get any work done like this...

_AN:/ Okay, I take back what I said last chapter, it'll probably be four chapters. I actually planned on making this chapter waaay shorter but it kinda wrote itself..._


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